Journalism, leadership and the realities of change
Two titans went up against each other in a desperate battle for supremacy this week, at the Walking With Dinosaurs show in the Echo Arena. Yes, amid earth-shaking, smoke machines and screaming children, I pitted an iPhone 3Gs and a Nokia N97 against each other to see which came out top. Actually, it wasn't quite... Continue Reading →
I was asked if I'd be one of the speakers at TEDx Liverpool - the first of several TEDx North events taking place over the next few months - and it turned out be be a memorable day.Based around the mind-stretching theme of Creativity, I got hear presentations by from Microsoft's Steve Clayton and Tinker.it's... Continue Reading →
I went back to reporting today; there was a fire in Stanley St, Liverpool, and I found myself (quite by accident) on the scene before the road was cordoned off. Fire engines were parked the length of Victoria Street - there must have been at least 15 there, not to mention police cars and ambulances... Continue Reading →
I'm not a regular reader of The Observer but I'm following the news and views around its potential future (or lack of) with interest.There's a Facebook page (4,300-plus people have joined, a Twitter account , a Twitter hashtag (#savetheobserver), innumerable blog posts - even Newsnight has come out in support. There is a very real... Continue Reading →
I've been having an online amble around Journalism Shop and wondering how long before something similar opens in the UK. This is what the founders have to say about themselves: Over the past couple of years the Los Angeles Times and its corporate owner, Tribune, have undergone an epic financial crunch which has led to... Continue Reading →
Mobile podcasting can be a real boon for newspaper journalists on a breaking story - it's a quick, easy way to get a story out. For the listener, it feels fast, real, and engaging - and it's also a simple way of filing copy back to the office. I guess we're all too attached to... Continue Reading →
and it's been a while... I wish phoning in from the UK still worked :(Mobile post sent by Alison using Utterli. Replies. mp3
Last week I got tricked up in a gown and mortarboard to graduate from the Journalism Leaders Course, courtesy of a Trinity Mirror team-up with UCLan. It was a good day but it struck me as I sat in Preston Guildhall that there was a very large number of newly-qualified journalists sat in rows around... Continue Reading →
A crane fell down in Liverpool today, crashing onto an apartment block, and I knew about it within seconds, from two sources.One was eyewitness who rang the Echo - it being the kind of local paper that people do still ring when things happen - and the other was Thom Shannon sat in an office... Continue Reading →
In my reporting and newsdesking days I sometimes got asked by a caller ringing in with a tale if there was any hope of us paying for the information. In the regionals I've worked on, we never paid for information although if the story was likely to sell, and good enough, we'd help arrange syndication... Continue Reading →
Alison Gow | Building the New 